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Learn MorePersuasive Communication: The Logos-based Persuasive Speech
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Persuasive Communication: The Logos-based Persuasive Speech
Moving People to Action: Developing a 3 minute Rational Basis Persuasive Speech
Created byConor Neill
Last updated 7/2023
English
What you'll learn
- How to Develop a 3 minute "logos-based" persuasive speech
- Aristotle's triad of persuasion: Logos, Ethos and Pathos - with a particular emphasis on the Logos
- Learn a simple, powerful persuasive speech structure
- Develop clarity in how you express your ideas about things that matter to you
- Speak in a way that moves others to commit and take action
Explore related topics
Course content
3 sections • 15 lectures • 43m total length
- The Four Pillars of Persuasion2:25
Imagine, 30 years from now, looking back on the successful life that you have led. As you sit reflecting back, take a few minutes to add up all the hours you spent giving presentations or speaking publicly. The total will be a small fraction of your time on earth.
However, those few occasions will have had a disproportionate impact on your professional success, and quite possibly on the fullness of your life.
As a leader, you give more to others through your speech than through any other form of communication.
The #1 reason why Persuasion fails…
Most persuasion fails because the communicator is not clear, specific and realistic about the action they want from the audience.
The Antidote to Persuasion Failure:
Start every communication by defining “When I have finished speaking my audience will ____________” and finish with an active verb
This immediately puts you into the shoes of the audience and will help you think about what they need to know, believe and feel in order to take action
Aristotle's Rhetorical Triangle
Aristotle's Rhetorical Triangle is a concept of effective persuasion that he described in his work, "Rhetoric". The triangle consists of three components: ethos, pathos, and logos. Here's a brief outline:
Logos (Logic): Logos focuses on logical arguments and evidence. It's about using reason, facts, statistics, and logical structures to convince the audience of your argument. This can involve making a clear, logical case for your point of view, providing strong evidence, using clear and effective reasoning, and addressing potential counterarguments.
Ethos (Credibility): This refers to the speaker's character and reputation. It's about establishing credibility and trustworthiness with the audience. A speaker with high ethos is seen as knowledgeable, trustworthy, and respectful, which makes the audience more likely to be persuaded. This can be established through demonstrating expertise, showing good moral character, and respecting the audience's intelligence and perspectives.
Pathos (Emotion): This component relates to the emotional appeal to the audience. It's about engaging the audience's feelings and values to make a persuasive argument. This can involve telling emotional stories, using vivid language, creating a shared sense of identity, or appealing to moral values.
A successful persuasive argument typically balances all three elements of the rhetorical triangle. Ethos establishes the speaker's credibility, pathos engages the audience's emotions and values, and logos provides clear, logical reasons to believe the argument. This balance helps to ensure that the argument appeals to the audience in multiple ways and is both engaging and persuasive.
This course will focus on Logos-based Persuasion and how to structure your spoken content in a way that will connect with the audience and move them to take action.
- Your Instructor: Conor Neill and How to Get Maximum Value from this Program3:26
Conor is a sought-after teacher on Leadership Communications. He has delivered over 2,000 training sessions to over 35,000 leaders over the last 16 years in over 20 countries around the world.
Conor is Senior Lecturer of Leadership Communications at IESE Business School and is the President of Vistage in Spain, part of the world’s leading CEO organisation. As an entrepreneur, he has founded 5 companies, selling 16 private jets and building the 3rd largest fleet of private jets in Spain. He is a visiting professor at University College Dublin, the University of Montevideo and Permanent Faculty on Entrepreneurs’ Organisation’s Global Leadership Academy.
IESE Business School
Conor is a Senior Lecturer at IESE Business School. He has been teaching Leadership Communications courses at IESE for over 17 years on MBA, Executive MBA and Senior Executive Programs.
President at Vistage in Spain
Conor is the President of Vistage in Spain. Vistage is the World’s Leading CEO organisation with over 45,000 members, operating since 1957.
YouTuber
Conor’s YouTube channel on Leadership and Influence has over 300K Subscribers and over 22 million views
- The Most Important Element of Persuasion - Clarity of Intent: "Point X"3:01
Clarity of Intent - the "Point X"
Extreme clarity about what you want your audience to do after they hear your speech or presentation — often referred to as a "call to action" — is crucial for 5 reasons:
Direction: It gives your audience a clear understanding of what steps they need to take next. Without a specific call to action, listeners may be interested and agree with your points but uncertain about how to apply or act on what they've learned.
Purpose: It adds purpose to your speech. When you have a clear end goal for your audience, it gives your entire speech a clear focus and direction. This can make your speech more compelling and impactful.
Engagement: It fosters deeper engagement. When listeners know what actions you want them to take, they're more likely to actively engage with your speech, rather than passively listening.
Measurement of Success: It allows you to measure the success of your communication. If you have a clear action you want the audience to take, you can then measure how many people took that action as a gauge of the effectiveness of your speech.
Motivation: A clear call to action can serve as a motivational tool. By giving your audience a specific task, you can spur them to action and help to foster change.
Point X: Setting a Clear intent for your persuasive speech
Point X is the sentence: "When I have finished speaking, my audience will..." finished with a clear action.
Examples of clear, practical, realistic actions:
- donate €2 to Medicins sans Frontieres
- sign the petition
- send a WhatsApp message to a friend saying "thinking of you today, let's catch up"
- Visit udemy.com on their mobile browser
- Sign the contract in front of them
- Open their agenda and schedule a meeting for next week
- Write a note to recommend me to their boss for this job
- Switch on their webcam for 3 minutes and practice their speech
- Choose your Speech Theme and Point X
- The 8 Parts of the Logos Based Persuasive Speech1:59
Develop Content
•Your ultimate goal is to achieve audience action.
•You need to provide logical, ethical and emotional appeals to achieve audience action (Logos, Ethos and Pathos).
•The Logos-Based Persuasive Speech has an explicit eight-part structure, which we know to be effective.
Argument is the process of making what we think clear to ourselves and to others.
The form of argument used in spoken persuasive speech is not the full formal logic of academics and school, the dialectic. The form of argument applied to persuasion is the enthymeme.
The purpose of persuasive argument is not to demonstrate the truth or validity of a position, but to effectively persuade the audience to take a given action.
Achieving Point X
Your ultimate goal is not to win the argument but rather to drive the audience toward a given action. Your speech’s primary goal is always to persuade readers to take action because your position is the most viable, logical, moral and practical. This can be accomplished:
By using logical, ethical and emotional appeals (Logos, Ethos and Pathos).
By using various types of evidence including expert testimony, statistics, logical demonstration, personal experiences, real-life examples (from current affairs or history), fictional examples (from novels, plays, movies or television), hypothetical examples, legal documents and concepts and codes of conduct.
By showing an understanding of your audience (some of whom are always skeptical).
By showing that you understand both sides of the argument.
By using all the resources of rhetoric.
Audience
For the purpose of developing your own persuasive power, assume that the audience:
Consists of thoughtful people of goodwill who might be persuaded by clear and cogent arguments.
May not be as familiar with the material as you, so you will need to explain concepts and terms as well as what the problem/issue is.
Includes some people who may be skeptical about your message before they hear your speech.
Includes others who are undecided about the issue.
Some of your listeners may not know you personally, you must prove to them that you are a credible speaker with good intentions.
You may need to explain the risks or obstacles of your message and then demonstrate that these arguments are flawed, that these risks can be mitigated, or that the obstacle is worth overcoming.
If an obstacle to the audience changing is large, you may need to concede the point explicitly and then try, if possible, to minimize the importance of that point.
You must treat your opponents and audience with respect, showing that you realize that they too are intelligent people of goodwill.
Content
You must use the Logos-Based Speech structure with three explicit Benefit sections in the body of your speech.
You must use a Grabber that captures the attention of the audience and establishes the right emotional environment for the audience to hear your message.
You need to prove your assertions with evidence (e.g., expert testimony, statistics, facts, hypothetical and real-life examples and logical demonstration).
Your speech must make sense to the average audience member.
Your speech must be interesting.
- Start Strong with a Grabber2:56
There are several powerful ways of starting a persuasive speech. In my most watched youtube video of all time, I share 3 powerful ways that you can start a speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w82a1FT5o88 Youtube, How to Start a Speech, 17M views.
In this program we are going to focus on one specific way to begin a persuasive speech: The personal anecdote.
The Personal Anecdote as Grabber
The personal anecdote is your own personal story of the moment in your life that the topic of the speech became important to you.
What was the first moment when this topic became important to you? Describe what happened to make this speech matter to you. What did you see, what did you do, who impacted you?
We will ask you to simplify this story down to 5 elements:
Moment in Time – When did this happen? Use exact dates. Either “when I was 16 years old…” or “4 years ago….” or “On May 27 2013…”
Situation – Give us the physical description of where we are “I was sat in my office, all by myself…” or “I was in my car, I was driving and my friend John was sitting in the passenger seat”
Complication – Something that causes the audience to wonder what is going to happen “the phone rang… my wife… hmmm, that is strange… she never calls me on this number…”
Tension – Now that the audience is interested in finding out what happened, we don’t rush. Hold this moment of tension for a few seconds… “I thought to myself… what could it be?
Resolution – Resolve the story
A good personal anecdote grabber can take 15 to 20 seconds to bring the audience quickly to an important moment in your life.
A personal anecdote grabber builds rapport between speaker and audience, creates an emotional connection, and prepares the audience to want to hear your message.
- Develop 3 Clear Benefits2:34
Write down 30 benefits for the audience of taking action, your Point X.
Write fast, and write down every idea no matter how small or strange it might be. Keep writing until you have at least 20 benefits. Do not stop at 3 or 5 or 10. At least 20 must be on the sheet.
There are strategic, personal and business benefits. Increased revenue is a business benefit. Increased chance of promotion, greater exposure to my bosses’ boss are personal benefits. We have the resources necessary to do it, we an execute on this project are strategic benefits. We need to include all of these benefit types if we expect to move people to action. Business managers are human beings with personal, family, social and business goals.
Write down 10 Obstacles, or barriers to action.
Why would somebody not take this action? Again write fast and write down every idea no matter how small or strange. “I’d be embarrassed if I was the only one who came out in support of this”; “I supported that last initiative and all it got me was extra work”…
It is the human irrational reasons that will block action. Nobody will ever tell you “I didn’t do it because I am lazy”; they will say “it was too expensive, it is not a priority for my boss right now” - but the real reason can often be “I don’t feel like it”, “it seems like hard work”.
Now, choose the 3 most important themes for this audience. It might be 3 benefits. It might be 2 benefits and 1 barrier to action.
- Develop a Strong, Clear, Concise Message2:28
A message outlines clearly for the audience "WIIFM" - Whats In It for Me. Early in the speech the audience needs to get clarity on where you are taking them with your speech. We do this with the message.
As a simple start, most basic messages start with the words "We must...". Examples of simple, clear messages:
We must take care of our health
We must make time for the important people in our lives
We must join the Alumni network
We must invest in our own leadership development
We must put courage at the center of our leadership
We must help those who are struggling
What is your message for the audience?
A concise, clear, and memorable message or slogan is a powerful tool in persuasive communication. Here are several benefits to crafting such a message for your speech:
Simplicity: A simple, clear message is easier for the audience to understand. It eliminates confusion and ensures that everyone knows what you're advocating for.
Memorability: Short, catchy phrases or slogans are easier to remember than complex or lengthy statements. They stick in the audience's mind long after the speech is over, continuously reinforcing your message.
Repetition: A memorable message can be repeated throughout your speech, which helps to emphasize your point and make it more likely to be remembered.
Impact: Concise, impactful messages can evoke strong emotions, helping to engage the audience on a deeper level. This emotional connection makes your argument more persuasive.
Shared Identity: A clear, memorable message can serve as a rallying cry or a shared mission statement. It can help to foster a sense of community or shared purpose among your audience.
It often takes some time and effort to craft a simple, memorable message. The benefits in terms of persuasive power, audience engagement, and lasting impact make it a worthwhile investment.
- Close with a Call to Action1:46
There are 2 types of Close in a Persuasive Speech: Direct close and Indirect close. Direct: Ask for the Action. Indirect: Remind the audience of the pain they will continue to suffer until they make this change.
In this short program we will focus exclusively on the Direct Close.
The Direct Close
The direct close is to ask the audience directly to do your Call to Action (CTA).
What is your Direct Close? How will you ask for action?
A note on the Indirect Close. The indirect close is to remind the audience of the pain they will continue to feel until they make a change. What pain will the audience continue to suffer if nothing changes?
Benefits of Clarity in your Call to Action
A specific, clear call to action (CTA) is a critical component of any persuasive speech. It is the tool that connects the audience with the intended outcome of the speech. Here are several reasons why it is essential:
Clarity for the Audience: Without a specific CTA, audience members might be left unsure about what steps they need to take. A clear CTA provides a roadmap for action, directing your audience towards a desired behavior or response.
Effectiveness: A well-defined CTA converts the understanding and agreement generated during the speech into tangible, immediate action.
Focus on the Goal: The CTA refocuses your audience's attention on the central goal of your speech, reinforcing the key messages and outcomes you want them to remember and act upon.
Motivation: A specific CTA serves as a motivational driver, encouraging the audience to take the necessary steps towards achieving the intended goal.
Feedback for your Speech: With a clear CTA, you can measure the effectiveness of your speech. If you achieve action: ask "what was it that made you take action?" and ensure that you keep that in future delivery of the speech. If the audience does not take action, ask "what more do you need to know, feel or know about me as a speaker in order to take the action?" and make the changes to your speech for future delivery.
In essence, the CTA is what turns the message of your speech into real-world impact. It is the bridge between ideas and action.
- What is your Message and your 3 Benefits?
- Powerful Emotional Connection - Developing The Omega Close2:20
The Omega Close, also known as the "emotional close" is powerful tool in persuasive communication. Here are 3 key benefits:
Memorability: An emotional close leaves a lasting impression. People are more likely to remember how a speech made them feel than specific details, and ending on a strong emotional note increases the likelihood that your speech will be remembered.
Emotional Influence: People are not swayed by logic alone. Even though your speech is logos-based, ending on an emotional note will influence those in your audience who are more affected by pathos (emotional appeal).
Closure: An emotional close gives a sense of completion and closure to your speech, rounding off your speech in a satisfying way.
The key to a successful Omega close is authenticity. The emotions you convey must be genuine and aligned with the message of your speech. Otherwise, the close may come off as insincere or manipulative, which could undermine your credibility and the overall effectiveness of your speech.
- Speech Delivery - 6 Basic Hand Gestures to Amplify the Impact of your Words4:17
- Effective Evaluation of Spoken Communication3:55
- Logos Example - Florian3:08
This section provides a series of example logos-based persuasive speeches. We'd like you to use the feedback template pdf provided in the first lesson of this section to analyse each of the speeches. We're looking for you to first identify the strengths of the speech, and then look for one or two specific points of improvement.
We're looking for you to use the feedback template to help in these 6 ways:
Structured Feedback: A feedback template provides a structured format for evaluation, ensuring that all important elements of the speech are considered. This helps to make the feedback more comprehensive and meaningful.
Consistency: Using a feedback template ensures consistency in evaluations. This is particularly important if you're evaluating multiple speeches, as it ensures that each one is assessed using the same criteria.
Focus on Key Elements: A good feedback template will direct attention to the key elements of a logos-based persuasive speech, such as logical structure, use of evidence, clarity of argument, rebuttal of counterarguments, etc.
Ease of Use: A feedback template simplifies the process of evaluation. By breaking down the speech into specific components, it can make the task of evaluation less daunting and more manageable.
Feedback Quality: With the aid of a template, the feedback provided is likely to be more objective, detailed, and useful. It can help the evaluator identify both strengths and areas for improvement.
Learning and Development: Evaluating speeches using a template can also be a valuable learning tool for the evaluator, helping them to understand the elements of an effective speech and apply these in their own presentations.
- Logos Example - Natalya2:39
This section provides a series of example logos-based persuasive speeches. We'd like you to use the feedback template pdf provided in the first lesson of this section to analyse each of the speeches. We're looking for you to first identify the strengths of the speech, and then look for one or two specific points of improvement.
We're looking for you to use the feedback template to help in these 6 ways:
Structured Feedback: A feedback template provides a structured format for evaluation, ensuring that all important elements of the speech are considered. This helps to make the feedback more comprehensive and meaningful.
Consistency: Using a feedback template ensures consistency in evaluations. This is particularly important if you're evaluating multiple speeches, as it ensures that each one is assessed using the same criteria.
Focus on Key Elements: A good feedback template will direct attention to the key elements of a logos-based persuasive speech, such as logical structure, use of evidence, clarity of argument, rebuttal of counterarguments, etc.
Ease of Use: A feedback template simplifies the process of evaluation. By breaking down the speech into specific components, it can make the task of evaluation less daunting and more manageable.
Feedback Quality: With the aid of a template, the feedback provided is likely to be more objective, detailed, and useful. It can help the evaluator identify both strengths and areas for improvement.
Learning and Development: Evaluating speeches using a template can also be a valuable learning tool for the evaluator, helping them to understand the elements of an effective speech and apply these in their own presentations.
- Logos Example - Tony2:56
This section provides a series of example logos-based persuasive speeches. We'd like you to use the feedback template pdf provided in the first lesson of this section to analyse each of the speeches. We're looking for you to first identify the strengths of the speech, and then look for one or two specific points of improvement.
We're looking for you to use the feedback template to help in these 6 ways:
Structured Feedback: A feedback template provides a structured format for evaluation, ensuring that all important elements of the speech are considered. This helps to make the feedback more comprehensive and meaningful.
Consistency: Using a feedback template ensures consistency in evaluations. This is particularly important if you're evaluating multiple speeches, as it ensures that each one is assessed using the same criteria.
Focus on Key Elements: A good feedback template will direct attention to the key elements of a logos-based persuasive speech, such as logical structure, use of evidence, clarity of argument, rebuttal of counterarguments, etc.
Ease of Use: A feedback template simplifies the process of evaluation. By breaking down the speech into specific components, it can make the task of evaluation less daunting and more manageable.
Feedback Quality: With the aid of a template, the feedback provided is likely to be more objective, detailed, and useful. It can help the evaluator identify both strengths and areas for improvement.
Learning and Development: Evaluating speeches using a template can also be a valuable learning tool for the evaluator, helping them to understand the elements of an effective speech and apply these in their own presentations.
- Logos Example - Claudio3:48
This section provides a series of example logos-based persuasive speeches. We'd like you to use the feedback template pdf provided in the first lesson of this section to analyse each of the speeches. We're looking for you to first identify the strengths of the speech, and then look for one or two specific points of improvement.
We're looking for you to use the feedback template to help in these 6 ways:
Structured Feedback: A feedback template provides a structured format for evaluation, ensuring that all important elements of the speech are considered. This helps to make the feedback more comprehensive and meaningful.
Consistency: Using a feedback template ensures consistency in evaluations. This is particularly important if you're evaluating multiple speeches, as it ensures that each one is assessed using the same criteria.
Focus on Key Elements: A good feedback template will direct attention to the key elements of a logos-based persuasive speech, such as logical structure, use of evidence, clarity of argument, rebuttal of counterarguments, etc.
Ease of Use: A feedback template simplifies the process of evaluation. By breaking down the speech into specific components, it can make the task of evaluation less daunting and more manageable.
Feedback Quality: With the aid of a template, the feedback provided is likely to be more objective, detailed, and useful. It can help the evaluator identify both strengths and areas for improvement.
Learning and Development: Evaluating speeches using a template can also be a valuable learning tool for the evaluator, helping them to understand the elements of an effective speech and apply these in their own presentations.
Requirements
- Commitment: The program demands dedication and a willingness to invest time and effort. The true benefits come from applying the teachings, not just from understanding them.
- Practice: This structure works if you do the work. This is not a passive learning, it requires active engagement.
Description
Mastering Logos: The Art of Logical Persuasion for Business Leaders
In a world where compelling and influential communication is paramount, this program offers business leaders the chance to hone their persuasive skills based on the principles of logical reasoning or 'Logos,' one of the cornerstones of Aristotle's Rhetorical Triangle.
Our concise and practical program is based on the ancient art of rhetoric, with a particular focus on 'Logos,' equipping participants with the ability to construct and deliver logically sound, evidence-based arguments that resonate with and persuade their target audience.
This course is ideal for business leaders aiming to refine their communication skills, augment their leadership presence, and drive their teams effectively towards strategic goals.
Key learning areas in the course include:
Understanding Logos: Introduction to Aristotle's concept of logos and its critical role in persuasive communication, especially in the business setting.
Structuring Speech Content: We will work together on this program to develop your own 3 minute persuasive speech based on the 2,300 year old Logos-based persuasive speech structure.
Real Speech Examples: You will develop your own persuasive speech and you will have the chance to see several speech examples to see how the structure can be used.
You will emerge with a prepared 3 minute logos-based persuasive speech, and a refined ability to persuade and influence, driving positive change within your business, community and beyond.
Who this course is for:
- Emerging Leaders: Early or mid-career professionals who aspire to take on leadership roles or have recently transitioned into such positions.
- Established Leaders: Individuals already in leadership roles who seek to enhance their capabilities, navigate new challenges, or invigorate their leadership style.
- Entrepreneurs and Business Owners: Those who run their own business and want to lead their teams more effectively to achieve their business goals.
- The simple persuasive communications structure makes it valuable for anyone who interacts with others in a personal or professional capacity and wishes to enhance these relationships through better leadership.